In Dreams I Went: Sequel to In Dreams He Came
by Evening Starbossa
Summary: The long-awaited sequel is finally here!  Read In Dreams He Came FIRST!
1. Falling Through Time

**A/N: Hold it RIGHT THERE! If you have not yet read part one of this story, 'In Dreams He Came', then go find it right now and read it. Otherwise you're going to be utterly confused, and I don't feel like explaining everything. (I also make a few references to 'Never Alone', so you might want to read that one as well.) Anyway, thank you, readers, for returning for the continuation! This one might be a bit deeper, but I'll still try to capture the same crazy chaos and confusion of the first part! As always, I do not own 'Phantom of the Opera' or any of its characters.**

** "YAAAAAAAA!"** I screamed as I went through the glow. And then I remembered I wasn't falling. I covered my mouth in embarrassment, but it was too late. My scream was now echoing off of every single wall of the caverns. _Way to go, Sarah...nice way to make an entrance into the nineteenth century._ The organ music stopped then, and I turned to see Erik whirling around on his organ bench.

"Oh good. You got my message." He smirked.

"Congratulations, Erik..." I smiled back, and as he stood and approached me, I noticed a sparkle in his eyes I had never seen before, not even when he was plotting his biggest act of revenge a year before.

"I have you to thank, Mademoiselle. That's why you are here."

"I'm honored that you remembered me..." He was right in front of me now, and we both shifted, unsure of what to do. Finally, he pulled me into a hug.

"Mademoiselle, it would be impossible for me to forget you...you opened the door of friendship to me and encouraged me to speak to Meg..."

"Stop it. All I did was throw water at you and scare you half to death countless times."

"And for that, I am truly grateful." We pulled apart then, and I took in my surroundings. I had seen the movie hundreds of times, and yet it did nothing to prepare me for the vast, damp, darkness around me. A chill ran up my spine, and my heart cracked at the thought of spending one's entire life down here. I knew we were under the opera house, but we might as well have been in another galaxy. No wonder he had gone after Christine with so much urgency and passion.

I began walking around his living quarters, touching things that had been shown in the movie, and discovering countless others that had not. There was something missing though. I must have circled around the bedchamber fifty times, and yet for the life of me I couldn't spot it.

"It's not here..." He had silently approached me from behind, and I jumped a mile before whirling around. "The music box...I gave it to Christine."

"Really?" My eyes widened, and he nodded.

"I...it was a wedding gift. Perhaps one day...she can pass it on to her own children...I also gave her the drawings..." At this, I did a double-take. Now that he mentioned it, there was an obvious lack of art pieces. "You said things could change...that those colorless scenes didn't need to happen."

"That's right, Erik..." I felt myself tearing up, but not from sadness. It was an overwhelming sense of pride.

"Oh...before I forget..." Erik disappeared around a corner and came back within minutes, holding a small, familiar object.

"My camera! How did...I was looking for that for months!" I grabbed it from him, staring at it in complete shock.

"I...it was in my pocket..." He looked down.

"It's okay, Erik. You didn't know. And I have it now." I turned it on and scrolled back through the pictures he had taken. None of them had been taken here, I noticed. Seeming to read my thoughts, he spoke up.

"I kept it hidden. I didn't want to alter anything...in case it should affect the future."

"Thank you. I appreciate that..." I smiled, setting the camera aside. "So...are you still living down here?"

"Until the wedding..." he nodded. "I'm having an addition built onto the back of the stables."

"Oh, really? Not above them?" I smirked, recalling my story 'Never Alone'.

"I figured that would be too obvious, Mademoiselle." He returned the smirk. "Now if you're quite finished poking around here, there's some people I'd like you to meet." He stepped aside, motioning towards the waiting boat on the lake.

"Now? Erik, I'm a mess! I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt!" I panicked.

"Don't worry about it. They know of you and where you come from."

"Still...at least let me change into this dress..."

"Oh, very well. Behind that curtain will do, just don't take too long." He rolled his eyes, pointing to the 'showcase' curtain where the mannequin of Christine had stood. I hurried to change, brushed my fingers quickly through my hair, and stepped out into the lair. "About time..." Erik mumbled before helping me into the boat. As we sailed through the underground waters, I was immediately thrown back into the 'Phantom of the Opera' scene, just in reverse. I highly doubted that Erik would want me to sing it, however, and so I kept silent, watching the darkened scenery around us.

All in all, the boat trip took about two minutes, and we soon stepped out and onto a landing at the foot of the spiral stairs. I whirled around then, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yes?" He matched my expression.

"Any chance of me falling through one of those steps and into a water trap?"

"Oh yes...I have long since secured that step, Mademoiselle, and I can assure you that the stairs are quite safe." Deciding that I would have to trust him, I began the climb, relieved to hear his footsteps close behind my own. Three minutes later, I was on my hands and knees, crawling onto the very last step. "So much for a neat appearance..." Erik smirked down at my breathless self.

"Very funny. This might come as a surprise to you, Erik, but I'm not in the best shape for climbing all those stairs." At this, he chuckled before helping me to my feet, and I did my best to brush the dust off my robin's egg blue dress. Once I was satisfied that I had done the best I could, Erik took my arm and led me through the twisting maze of passageways until we reached what I recognized as the two-way mirror. Not missing a beat, he slid it open and helped me through, and I was soon standing in Christine's former dressing room. "Wow that's a lot of flowers..." I observed.

"What do you expect? A room of thorns for a prima donna?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Good point." We were silent as we made our way into the corridor.

"They'll be in rehearsals now...it's the beginning of the week, so they'll be focusing on the dance routines before adding music. That's why I was able to wait underground for your arrival."

"There's something you're not telling me..." I rubbed my forehead.

"Oh, did I not mention it? Monsieur Reyer is retiring after the wedding. I will be taking over for him. In the meantime, I sometimes take charge of at least rehearsing the orchestra." Sensing yet another smirk on my face without turning around to face me, he continued. "You see? It's still not like the story you wrote. Not exactly."

"No, but it's close." I argued. He did not respond, instead leading me to Box Five, where I could see the dancers moving around the stage. "How long did the reconstruction take?"

"Not as long as you might think. It turns out the fire wasn't as large as I had thought." I nodded, then turned my attention to the dancers as Madame Giry appeared. She approached one of the younger dancers, moving her into the correct position. Two dancers in the back giggled, and the ballet mistress whirled around.

"That's enough! You were beginners once, and you will remember that!" The giggling stopped right then and there, and I had to admire the older woman for showing her compassion as well as her no-nonsense attitude in that one sentence. The dancer in the middle of the stage reached out to squeeze the younger girl's shoulder encouragingly, and it soon dawned on me that that was Meg. Seeming to see the recognition in my eyes, Erik smiled.

"She's made it to prima ballerina...and I had nothing to do with it. She did it on her own..." I looked him in the eyes then, and immediately saw the love he held for her. He seemed to be staring into the distance now as he continued. "She really is beautiful...I can't wait for you to meet her. She's been dying to meet you."

"You...told her about me?"

"Of course. It was you who brought us together." I could only smile in response then, and so we silently watched the rest of rehearsals.

By noon, the routine had been worked into at least passable, by Madame Giry's standards, of course. Erik escorted me down to the stage, and I hung back as soon as I saw Meg running up to him. "Were you watching, Erik?" She asked eagerly.

"Of course. I was a little late today, however..." He stepped aside then, revealing me. Meg and I stared at each other for a moment, but as soon as she realized who I was, I was immediately yanked into a crushing hug.

"Mademoiselle Sarah! Erik's told me so much...I feel like you're my sister!" She finally released me, looking me over with a wide grin on her face.

"Please...Call me Sarah..." I smiled. "You'll have to forgive me, Meg...this just all feels like a dream...or at least a scene from one of my stories..."

"That's understandable." Meg nodded. "Come...the noon meal is being served, and you can meet Mama...afterward we'll show you to your room..." With that, she took me by the hand and led me down the hallway. I looked back at Erik, but he merely shrugged and smirked.

**"So...you are **the one behind the mystery voice." Madame Giry concluded. I silently nodded, swallowing my mouthful of soup.

"Yes...forgive me for acting so..."

"Bossy?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes...I simply didn't know how else to go about it."

"Perfectly understandable, Mademoiselle. No need to explain." Beside me, I heard Erik let out a very soft but unmistakable chuckle at my nervousness, and I resisted the urge to kick his shin.

**The rest of the** day was mostly uneventful, although I had to admit that it all still felt like a blur or a dream. Yes, Erik had in fact been in my time a year ago. But this was different. I was in my stories. Ish. Erik had made it very clear that nothing was exactly the same. But he couldn't argue the fact that they had all taken place right where I was standing.

The afternoon especially felt like a blur, because while Erik was with the orchestra, Meg and Madame Giry swept me along with them to get measured for an entire wardrobe, and then Meg took the liberty of showing me the dorm rooms and introducing me to the dancers and chorus girls. Every. Single. One.

We were rounding a corner, on our way back toward the stage to listen to the orchestra, when I nearly ran right into a pink, feathery, perfumey figure. "Watch where you are going, leetle girl!" An Italian voice huffed. Oh no. Carlotta.

"My apologies..." I mumbled, trying not to breathe in the fumes of her perfume.

"Who are you anyway? Yet another dancing girl to get in mah way? Hmm?"

"Carlotta, this is Mademoiselle Sarah Wilkins...she's a visitor from America..." Meg spoke up, and the diva's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"America, huh? And what makes you think you can wander around 'ere just because you are from America?"

"She's a friend of Erik's and mine, if you must know. She's here for the wedding, and I'm showing her around."

"And 'ow do you know someone from America, leetle ballerina girl? You spent your 'ole life here!"

"What makes you so interested in my life all of a sudden, Carlotta? You've spent all your time here never looking any further than yourself, what makes you such an expert on me?" I had to applaud Meg for standing up to the much taller woman. But then, that's how she'd always seemed to me whenever I wrote for her in my stories.

"You are safe for now, leetle girl. But I will geet to the bottom of thees, I'll have you know!" With that, the diva pushed past us, and we waited until she was out of sight before surrendering to our giggles.

**A/N: More to come eventually…I have a couple surprises in store, so please be patient! Feedback is always welcome! Stay tuned! :)**


	2. An Old Friend

**A/N: Guess who's baaaack? Give you a hint: She was Erik's "favorite" person to answer letters from in the first story. Only there are no letters involved here. Confused? Keep reading. And remember, I own nothing!**

** By the time** supper rolled around, I was feeling so dizzy and exhausted that I barely touched my food. This did not go unnoticed, and someone(Madame Giry? Meg?) led me down the corridors to my sleeping quarters. Within minutes, I was fast asleep.

**The next morning**, I awoke at exactly seven A.M., which by Madame Giry's standards was the equivalent of sleeping in. Even for guests from another world. And so I dragged myself back into the reality that still seemed like a dream, regaining my bearings. Sometime the night before, someone had slipped a nightgown over me. I had surprisingly been given a room all to myself, at the opposite end of the dormitory hallway from Madame Giry's quarters. The room itself was furnished very simply; a canopy bed, a sofa, and a dresser topped with a basin of water were all that filled the cozy room. And yet, somehow, it still had the feel of being a luxury, and I figured that was due to the lack of busy chatter from the chorus girls and dancers.

Before I could contemplate this any further, there was a light knock on the door. "Yes?" I swung my legs over the side of the bed, preparing to stand. The door opened, and Meg walked in.

"Oh good...you're up. Mama was beginning to wonder..."

"Yes, well...forgive me, but I don't usually wake up this early."

"Yes, Erik told us..." Meg smiled. "He also says you take your coffee cold?" Now it was my turn to smile at the memory. _Coffee mist upon a vast flowery table..._

"If that's possible. I don't want to be any trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all! Paulette...that's our cook...has said that she is more than happy to accommodate you."

"Er...exactly how many people here know of me? That is, know the truth?"

"Oh, just myself, Erik, Mama, and Paulette. Would you mind if I told Christine when she and Raoul arrive?"

"That would be fine. I just wouldn't want my arrival to take away from your wedding..."

"Yes, Erik and I discussed that. He decided that it would be best if we kept the truth restricted to those we most trusted...he didn't think that you'd like it if people knew you're from the future...he was afraid that you'd be put on display and bombarded with questions..." Taking a deep breath, she slid onto the bed beside me. "After we talked, it was decided that it just wouldn't be right to not have you here. In fact, I was wondering if...if you would agree to being my maid of honor..."

"_Me_?" My eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"I would like nothing else. That is, of course, unless you'd be too uncomfortable..." She looked around a bit before continuing. "After all, gossip comes second nature to almost everyone here...Erik and I are used to it, but you..."

"Meg, it's your wedding. If you want me to be, then I would be more than happy to be your maid of honor." I smiled reassuringly. Her response was another rib-crushing hug before standing up and pulling me to my feet.

"We must hurry if we're going to avoid Mama's disappointment...she doesn't care for tardiness..."

"Yes, I kind of figured as much..." I smiled.

"Exactly. While you wash up, I'll go find Adelaide and see if she's found a dress for you yet." Obviously, the dresses I had been measured for the day before were mostly for the wedding celebrations, and so were going to take the most amount of time. For everyday clothes, I was going to have to rely on dresses rejected or outgrown by the other girls. Perfectly fine with me. My only other option was yesterday's jeans and t-shirt.

Once I was in a thin, faded-yellow dress donated by a chorus girl named Alyce, Meg led me down the corridor toward the dining room. Just when we were about to round a corner, a shadow leaped out in front of us, a wide smirk on his face and a white rose in his hand. "Good morning, Erik..." Meg smiled, taking the flower.

"You know, you didn't really need to waste all that effort. You don't frighten us..." I crossed my arms, unimpressed.

"Yes, well...twenty years of being the Phantom of the Opera does not go away in one year, Mademoiselle." Turning to Meg, he continued. "Have you told her?"

"Yes, and she's agreed!"

"I knew she would." Erik looked over at me and smiled. "Although how she knew to bring her mask with her is beyond me. I made no mention of it in the invitation."

"Okay, I'm missing something." As I said this, Erik sighed impatiently.

"We are requesting that all members of the wedding party wear a mask..."

"It makes sense...with all the guests coming, we didn't want Erik to feel uncomfortable..." Meg put in.

"Yes, that does make sense…" As I thought back to yet another scene from one of my stories, Erik seemed to read my mind once again.

"You will remember, Mademoiselle, that in your story, that request was for Christine's wedding. Not mine."

"Oh fine." I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him as he escorted us down the corridor to the dining room.

After breakfast, rehearsals were the same as the day before, so Erik and I went back up to Box Five to watch. When we got there, however, we saw that we were not the first to be there. Stretched out across the seats was a sleeping woman, dressed in black shoes, nice jeans, a dressy top, black leather jacket, and scarf. She was also wearing glasses, perched on the end of her nose. Her long, dark blonde hair was tied back with a scrunchie. Wide-eyed, Erik approached her, gently shaking her awake. "Knock it off, Jon," the woman said with her eyes still closed.

"Madame, my name is not Jon…" Erik stifled a smirk.

"Leave me alone, Jeff, I'm still on lunch," she mumbled.

"Madame, you are mistaken. Lunch is not for several hours yet, and my name is not Jeff, either." _So much for stifling that smirk,_ I thought. At that point, the woman opened one eye.

"You're not Jeff," she frowned, "Where's your ID badge?"

"My name is Pha—Oper—" he sighed, "My name is Erik, Madame."

"You're not in billing. Are you T1? Who's your TL?" she asked, sitting up.

"No, I'm not in Billing, wherever that might be…_we_ are in Paris. The Opera Populaire, to be precise."

"I must be dreaming. Pinch me and I'll wake up," she said, shaking her head.

As soon as I saw Erik open his mouth, I hissed, "Don't. Say it." Ignoring his innocent look, I stepped forward. "I'm Sarah. Judging by your clothing, I believe we are from the same time…2012, right?"

"Sarah, Sarah…." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You're not Sarah from Facebook, are you?"

"Uh, yes, actually…that is…I _am_ on Facebook…" I raised an eyebrow, "And you are…?"

"I go by Tamster online," She replied. I was about to say something, but Erik beat me to it.

"No…not…THAT Tamster…" He was backing away, but the wall behind him put a stop to that.

"There's more than one?" Tamster asked, puzzled.

"I should certainly hope not! How did you get here?"

"Why are you asking me? I just woke up and I'm not going out with Jeff after work again!" She replied, rubbing her temples. By now Erik was completely speechless, and so I took the opportunity to completely annoy him.

"Well it's certainly nice to meet you in person!"I grinned widely, topping the greeting off with a warm hug. I looked back at Erik to see his mouth still moving silently, but he was now glaring at me.

"No kidding! How are you liking the sequel, 'Family Ties'?" She grinned back.

"Oh, I love it! And did you like how I put Erik's and my last encounter into a fan fic? I had to call it fiction because no one would believe me otherwise…"

"Very true, and I can get chapters out so much quicker now with the new computer and voice recognition software. Did you see I'm posting the stories on Facebook and Deviantart too?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes, I did actually…I—"

"Sorry to break up this…online reunion, or whatever this is, but need I remind you that there are very few here who know that Sarah is from the future? Not to mention rehearsals are underway, and voices carry in here…" At that, we looked over the balcony railing to see Madame Giry glaring up at us from the stage. "Sorry, Antoinette!" Erik called sheepishly.

"Wow," Tamster said in a quieter voice, looking around the theater, "Just like in the movie pretty much. But I still prefer the Opera House in Oshkosh." At that, Erik raised his eyebrow.

"May I ask where that might be…?"

"In Wisconsin, in America, you dolt," Tamster replied.

"How DARE yo—"

"Now Erik, remember…voices carry…" I put my hand on his shoulder, standing between the two of them. He muttered something under his breath as he sat down to watch the rehearsals, although he kept glaring at Tamster.

"So how on earth did I get here?" she whispered. Before I could answer, I heard Erik mumble:

"The real question is how do we send you back…?" Ignoring him, I spoke up.

"I wish I could tell you…I _thought_ that the only doorway between our worlds was down in Erik's lair…" Tamster sat lost in thought for several minutes.

"You know, I hate to say this because it'll sound like the plot to a bad science fiction movie, but it sounds like we've fallen through worm-holes…" She shrugged, looking down by her seat. "Hey, my bag made it through with me. Is there somewhere we can go where we won't cause a scene?"

"My lair should suffice… Sarah, could you lead the way to the mirror while I make my excuses to my fiancé and the Madame?" I nodded and stood up.

"Right this way…" I started down toward the dressing room.

**A/N: Huge huge huge thanks to TheTamster for contributing! This is gonna be FUN to write! *ahem* anyways…keep the feedback coming! More to come soon! :)**


	3. Blending In

**A/N: Sorry for the delay…once again I own nothing!**

** "Quite the ray** of sunshine, isn't he?" Tamster smirked as she followed me. I giggled at that.

"I'm sure that once he's gotten used to having you here, he'll be a lot nicer. Besides, he'll be getting married to Meg soon…that's why I'm here. And so I'm sure that she's done wonders for his mannerisms…" By the time we got to the mirror doorway, Erik caught up to us, and I saw that he was holding a dress.

"Madame, you will have to put your bag in the passageway and look through it later. I have just been informed that the Vicomte and Vicomtess de Chagney are on their way. Madame Giry found this for you to wear for the time being…" He handed our guest the dress. "Also, I cannot possibly introduce you as 'Tamster'. Have you another name? One that sounds like you are from this century?"

"Fine," She shrugged out of her jacket. "Sarah, in the bottom of my bag are some boots. Can you grab those out for me?"

"Of course…" I got the boots and handed them to her.

"We will be waiting in the hallway. While you are changing, try to come up with a name with which I might introduce you to people here." With that, Erik led the way out of the dressing room, and while we waited, he paced the floor.

"You owe me a stiff drink for this…" She said to Erik as she came out of the dressing room, "I look ridiculous." Erik smirked but thankfully held back any negative comments.

"You look fine, Madame. Now then. What might I call you, other than Tamster?"

"Call me Tammy, your distant cousin from America," she smirked in return, "because that's how I'll introduce myself." As I saw steam begin to rise out of Erik's beet-red ears, I quickly steered him in the direction of wherever Madame Giry and Meg were waiting for us.

As we got to the stage, I saw that the de Chagneys had arrived. They both turned and smiled at us, and as Erik was still too speechless to do so, I introduced myself. After I shook hands with them, Tammy stepped up and did the same. "Bonjour. I'm Tamera Dupree, Erik's second cousin from America," she said, staying true to her promise to Erik. Obviously, I was the only one who noticed Erik grinding his teeth and throwing a silent tantrum, as they all smiled and greeted Tammy warmly.

"I'm so glad that Erik has found family in time for the wedding…" Madame Giry grinned.

"Oh the stories I could tell from when we were children!" She was fully enjoying herself now. "Do you remember, cousin, when you got into Uncle Bill's moonshine by accident?"

"No, DEAR COUSIN, I do NOT seem to recall that particular incident…" Erik replied through clenched teeth.

"No," she laughed a little, "no, you wouldn't remember that. But I'm sure you remember all the animals on the farm that we used to play with."

At this point, Meg joined in with a squeal. "Erik, you never told me you had pets!" Before Erik could reply, Madame Giry spoke up.

"Wait just a minute. Erik, how could you have all these stories of your childhood if you grew up in that traveling fair?" She looked between Erik and Tammy with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, this was before our families lost contact when mine went to America," Tammy quickly explained. "I'm older than Erik and always watched out for him, never letting the older children pick on him. Erik was maybe five or six the last time I saw him in person." Inwardly applauding Tammy for her quick thinking, I looked from Erik to Madame Giry. Erik was wide-eyed, looking helplessly at Madame Giry. She did not notice him as she nodded.

"I see. Well, shall we go into the dining room for the noon meal? I am sure our travelers are hungry…" She smiled at the de Chagneys and at Tammy before leading the way off the stage and down the hall. As we walked, I noticed Meg lean toward Erik.

"You really must tell me sometime about all this!"

"You will have to ask my cousin, as the rest of my childhood blotted out most of those memories." Erik glared ahead at Tammy.

"I would be happy to regale you with those stories later, if you so wish," Tammy called back over her shoulder. "Erik was quite the terror when he was little."

At this, Raoul joined in. "That makes sense, considering all he did during his time here…" He chuckled lightly, and Christine merely smiled.

"I don't doubt it one bit! He was known for being quite devious…" Tammy smiled and winked at Erik. Erik said absolutely nothing as we gathered in the dining room, and I couldn't help but notice that he chose to seat himself and Meg at the opposite end of the table as Tammy. I really could have said something to him at this point…something about 'is that really any way to treat a long lost family member'…But even instigators like myself know when to stop playing with fire, and so I merely took my seat in between Tammy and Madame Giry, hoping that the meal would be a pleasant one for all present.

After the meal had ended, Tammy rose from her seat with her wine glass in hand. "I would like to propose a toast to our happy couple.

May your mornings bring joy and your evenings bring peace.  
>May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase.<br>May the saddest day of your future  
>Be no worse than the happiest day of your past.<br>May your hands be forever clasped in friendship  
>And your hearts joined forever in love.<br>All the happiness in the world you, I know no one who deserves it more," she said with a smile and raised her glass. Erik kept switching facial expressions between wide eyes and a raised eyebrow, but his shock was soon lost as the dining room joined in on the toast.

After everyone had sipped, Erik threw Tammy a Look that said "Just what do you think you're up to...?"

Tammy silently sent him a look that seemed to say, "Get me out of here and you'll find out." Erik smirked back at her and purposefully turned his attention to Meg, who was going on about wedding plans. My neck stiff from looking back and forth between the two ends of the table, I then decided to chat a bit with Christine about the past year. "Oh I would love to chat...but could we go somewhere else...?" I nodded and stood up, catching Erik's attention.  
>"I'll catch up with you later...in the meantime, try to be nice?" He rolled his eyes but nodded. I nodded back, and Christine and I made our way out of the room. As we were walking, I noticed Raoul move closer to Tammy and Madame Giry.<p>

"Pardon me for intruding, ladies," he smiled, "Might I inquire as to what your profession might be?"

"Oh, I've done so many things," Tammy smiled with Madame Giry looking on intently, "I learned a bit of blacksmithing from my father and grandfather, I've been a teacher as well, but my current profession is as a jeweler." The conversing voices faded as Christine and I made our way down the corridor.

**A/N: More to come as soon as possible! In the meantime, feel free to leave feedback!**


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